Thanksgiving Day

April 1, 2011

K-Gr 1-In the first beginning reader, Goeller asks, "Who says boo?" Photographs of costumed children and animals declare, "Not I." A jack-o-lantern ultimately delivers the final "boo." With only seven different words in the entire book, the story is a model of simplicity, and the repetition gives readers the opportunity to master the text quickly. However, the images seem more like stock photos than artistic expressions of an original story. While the concept is solid as an introduction to reading, the execution falls short in offering anything new and interesting to the genre. Using a familiar nursery-rhyme structure in Thanksgiving, Goeller offers a humorous countdown of five turkeys fleeing dinner. With simple sentences and repetitive vocabulary, this is a funny, easy-to-read holiday story. Spare but colorful digital illustrations repeat images to support the rhyme and give visual clues to bolster reading comprehension. While there is nothing that distinguishes this book from the many other beginning readers like it, its simplicity and punch line will appeal to children.-Sarah Townsend, Norfolk Public Library, VA

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